Chipped bone in foot and very inflamed tendon

Hello, I'm hoping you can offer me some advice please. Four weeks ago a can of hot dogs fell on my foot from the kitchen work surface. It hurt at the time and some swelling and bruising occurred. I didn't think I'd broken it and tried to carry on as normal. After a couple of days the pain subsided, just kept bothering me on and off for the next few days. After wearing some 3 inch heels for a day the pain started up again. I then went on holiday for two weeks - the pain was awful whilst I was away, particularly if I walked in bare feet. I saw a nurse practitioner yesterday at my local hospital who, on examination, said I had chipped my 2nd metatarsal and had a very inflamed tendon on the base of my foot. His advice was to wear trainers, take anti imflammatories for a week, rest where feasible and buy a foot insole that would reduce the pressure on the ball of my foot. It's still very sore and I would like to know whether I have been given the correct advice. Also, I don't actually know what kind of insole he meant - my local pharmacy couldn't assist.

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Though the advice was not incorrect, I would have suggested taking x-rays to rule out fractures initially. Once fractures and tendon injuries have been ruled out, one could move to conservative management for soft tissue inflammation with rest, avoiding weight bearing, ice-packs/ warm compresses and tylenol/ OTC NSAIDS. I would suggest getting this examined by a primary care physician or an orthopedician for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate management.
Hope this is helpful.

Take care!

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Though the advice was not incorrect, I would have suggested taking x-rays to rule out fractures initially. Once fractures and tendon injuries have been ruled out, one could move to conservative management for soft tissue inflammation with rest, avoiding weight bearing, ice-packs/ warm compresses and tylenol/ OTC NSAIDS. I would suggest getting this examined by a primary care physician or an orthopedician for an accurate diagnosis and appropriate management.
Hope this is helpful.

Take care!

[footy265]

Thank you so much for your response. I really appreciate this. Fortunately the pain is now subsiding and I am still taking care with wearing suitable footwear and not applying too much pressure.

Thank you again.